Slash of the Titans
How government censors — not audience members — were the most annoying part of my first movie-going experience in China
I am somewhat of a movie buff, yet I waited 18 months to see a movie in the theater in Shanghai. Or perhaps it’s that I waited 18 months to see a movie in the theater in Shanghai because I am somewhat of a movie buff. Let me explain.
Generally an easy going guy, I am the anal retentive movie-goer. I hate when audience members talk. I hate when their mobile phones go off. I hate when they have annoying laughs.
In America, I would choose show times based on when the theater was likely to be at its emptiest. I would choose a seat far away from anyone else. If someone would come in late and sit near me, sometimes I would get up and move.
I figured China would be just about the worst place for a person like me to go see a movie because — and I know I am generalizing here — Chinese people have no problem talking during anything, Chinese people love their mobile phones and the Chinese language comes in two volume levels: loud an louder. The whisper, I’m convinced, is a Western innovation.
Now, before I get hate mail, let me say that America has plenty of annoying movie-goers. Tons of them. But the movie culture there is an established one. There are written and unwritten rules of theater etiquette. Most people know them. And if they break them, they either simply don’t care or they are stupid — usually both. In China, there are different cultural norms and movie-going is still somewhat of a novelty. The rules haven’t been written yet.
I talked to my students at Shanghai University about this. Those who could afford a night at the movies (tickets, at around US$8 a pop, are pretty expensive for many Chinese) said they went not so much for the movie but for the experience. They would often arrive late for a movie, and sometimes leave early. During the show, they would wander and mingle. They would talk to each other. They would talk on their mobile phones. If they caught part of the movie, great. (This, by the way, was pretty much the same way they approached their classmates’ oral presentations in my class.)
It’s not just the teenagers, either. I recently called my friend Johnson one night on his mobile phone. When he answered, I assumed he had laryngitis. His voice was soft and raspy. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “I’m at a movie,” he tried to whisper. “Well, why the hell do you have your phone on! Why did you answer! Call me back when the movie is over.” And I hung up. I felt bad for the people sitting near him … until I figured they were probably talking on their mobile phones, too. And why not? Most people read the Chinese subtitles, anyway. Doesn’t need to be quiet to do that.
So, I have always just avoided the inevitable frustration of attending a movie in China by not attending a movie in China. This is not a difficult thing to do. The English-language movie selection in Shanghai’s theaters is pretty shitty. And I can get pretty much anything I want on DVD, anyway. I didn’t feel like I was missing anything.
But there is something about actually going to the movies. And I now live about a five-minute walk from one of the nicest theaters in town. And there is a movie playing — Troy — that has the kind of dialogue you don’t mind missing (more on that in a bit). So I went. And, you know, it wasn’t all that bad. (The experience wasn’t all that bad. The movie itself was epically average.)
I went on a Friday night. And that had me scared. In a city of 18 million, I figured it would be a packed house. But when we purchased our tickets and selected our seats — they are assigned in China — we found out that the theater was empty. Going to an 11:10 p.m. showing of a 160-minute movie turned out to be a good idea. We ended up watching with about eight other people. Yes, there was some talking. Yes, mobile phones rang a couple of times. But most of the evening’s annoyances came from the movie … and whoever the idiot was that censored it.
The basics of going to a movie in Shanghai all felt pretty normal … with a few exceptions. They sell dried squid at the concession stand. And the girl who sells it to you has a name tag that reads “Bobo.” (Well, that was the name of the girl at the cinema I went to.) We entered our theater at 11:11 p.m. … and the movie had already started. In a country that gets about one English-language movie a month, I guess there’s not much use to show a lot of trailers.
The official runtime of Troy is 162 minutes. We probably saw around 155 of them — because someone, somewhere, deemed parts of the film too violent or sexual for us to handle. This pissed me off. And if it had happened to a better movie, I might have just gotten up and left. I can decide what I want to watch for myself, thank you very much. And I bet most Chinese people can, too.
I had read that a sex scene was trimmed in the Chinese version of Cold Mountain, but for some reason I thought that was the exception and not the rule. And Troy is pretty tame, anyway. The “sex” scenes are very PG. And the violence … well, shit, it’s a movie about war. What the hell do you expect? If Kill Bill would have shown here, it would have been the opening credits … and that’s about it.
These cuts weren’t clean, either. Someone had a pair of scissors and some Scotch tape — and not a care about continuity or consistency. Major plot points were almost totally erased, like when Hector kills Menalaus or when Achilles drags Hector’s slain body around the city. But, later, images of what I would consider graphic violence remained in the movie. It was random. It was ridiculous. And to see the cut parts, all anyone has to do is go to any street corner and buy the black market version of Troy for US$1. There, you can also pick up any porn or gory Hong Kong action flick you want. And — thank God — you don’t see anyone cracking down on this. Wonder why.
This type of censorship would never happen in America. Well, maybe in Utah, or on airplanes, or at Blockbuster Video, or on television … oh, never mind.
That said, let me mention some of the parts of Troy that should have been cut. The script — allegedly “influenced” by Homer’s The Iliad — was laughable and often seemed more indebted to Melrose Place or The Days of Our Lives. Take these two exchanges featuring pussy-ass Paris (played by the weasely Orlando Bloom):
Paris: Don’t be afraid of him.
Helen: I’m not afraid of dying, I’m afraid of tommorow. I’m afraid of watching you sail away and knowing you’ll never come back. Before you came to Sparta, I was a ghost. I walked and I ate and I swam in the sea… I was just a ghost.
Paris: You don’t have to fear tommorow… come with me!
Helen: Don’t play with me, don’t play.
Paris: If you come, we’ll never be safe. Men will hunt us, the gods will curse us, but I’ll love you. Until the day they burn my body, I’ll love you.
Priam: Do you love her, my son?
Paris: Father, you are a great king, because you love your country so much. Every blade of grass, every grain of sand, every rock in the river. … You love all of Troy. That is the way I love Helen.
But it was Brad Pitt’s Achilles who got to utter the harshest of ancient putdowns. He called a man, gasp, “a sack of wine.” And he looked really angry when he said it, too. Ooooooooh, facial!
A couple other random thoughts:
* Why must every English-language movie about ancient times be spoken in British accents?
* Get off Diane Kruger (Helen of Troy), already. Some out there are saying she’s not beautiful enough. They say perhaps she could launch 50 or 100 ships, but surely not 1,000. Shut up, people. She’s hot.
* And finally, what’s worse: A war about a woman, a war about religion or a war about arrogance, oil and faulty intelligence?
06.27.2004, 3:04 AM · Culture, Movies, Observations
13 Comments
Actually, I’ve come across DVDs censored just as clumsily as that film, ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’ being a notable one.
Yeah, I’ve purchased some of those, too. I remember my copy of Basic Instinct had some blurry private parts. And Sharon Stone’s famous uncrossing and crossing of her legs was totally cut. But I’m not sure who to blame in these cases. Could be that they just copied a censored DVD from the States.
Hello Dan,
“This type of censorship would never happen in America” —- I agree, but censor for marketing reason does happen, as Miramax is called by many American film buff ‘MiramAxe’.
Also may I make a point that a nation with nasty censors can actually be the one who makes artistically superior films? It’s certainly the case with Soviet cinema. Contemporary Iranian cinema is another case. Contemporary Chinese cinema is no exception. If you are interested in the topic, we can discuss it later in details. By the way, most part of Kill Bill volume one was shot in Beijing Studio with a Chinese crew.
Marketing mentality has done more harm to the art of cinema than political censorship, believe me.
The etiquette issue you mentioned is undisputable. But one thing you shall understand is China is nowhere near a true civil society in which mutual respect is a basic rule. The demo*cracy is essential for a civil society. You won’t find much etiquette in Shanghai’s bars, subways, theatres or other public space where there is a half-educated, smalltownish crowd. If you have the oppotunity, try a backpack cross-country trip or try to read contemporary China with a historical perspective.
Fan,
When I wrote “This type of censorship would never happen in America,” my tongue was planted firmly in my cheek. We definitely have our own forms of censorship in America.
It’s interesting that although Kill Bill was made in China, it is likely too violent to appear in Chinese theaters.
And a cross-country trip? Funny you should mention that: Check out my plans.
Dan
Hello Dan,
I can totally understand that going to the movies in China can be very annoying for Western people who are there for the sake of watching a movie. Chinese people go to the movies mainly for socializing and that’s the way how it is in China. It is accepted in the society and is not considered rude behavior.
It’s just the matter of cultural difference.
When in China, do what the Chinese do.
Good luck to your trip.
Tommy
“when in China, do what the Chinese do?”
Christ… don’t get me started.
Oh Dan, I feel your pain! I knew what it was like growing up in Singapore so I remember the censorship quite well. All the good parts in movies always got the snip!
Like you, I now catch the earliest screening of the day usually at 10am, to avoid the crowds, if I go to the movies at all. Anyway, good luck on your trip this summer. Post lots of photos.
well um, I just thought about it the other day. I don’t think China has a rating system for movies or TV programs. I believe Troy and Cold Mountains are R-rated, but since China don’t limit the age of viewers, they cut all the rated scenes to fit the whole public, which is not fair for adult audiences, however it’s understandable. I’ve been to cinema before only with my school mates, u know, kinda like field trip, and i think the situation is a lot better in this case. We don’ usually talk during the show, and we are there to enjoy the show. I guess it’s not that convenience to watch a movie in China. By the way, I just watched Fahrenheit 9/11, just a good movie. I loved it!!! I hope you can get it in Shanghai soon.
get used to those movie theaters , u are in China , if u don’t like here , u can just pack your bag and go back !!!u don’t have to stay here for $, do u ?
“When in China, do what the Chinese do”
Sorry, I don’t agree. Dan, I can feel how you have to put up with that. But let’s just face it China is still a country under development. You can’t expect people to change their etiquette over a night with over 80 million illiteracy, meanwhilem, education is the biggest failure of the country. That’s why I seldom go to cinemas but rather watch dvd on my own. I have friends who like to talk, make noises and have their cell phone on in the cinma, if they don’t accept my criticism, I just don’t go to movies with them anymore. Hopefully this phenomena can be changed someday.
and the censorship, o man, who likes them.
The chinese version of “love actually” cut out two characters entirely. The couple that meet on the set of a porn movie aren’t in the movie at all.
Give me a break. Getreal. What do you mean “development”? KFC modified chickens? Starbucks’ close-to-poison coffee? …or George W. Bush?
Why is there only one way to enjoy movies?
Tea,
Do you think China is a developed city just because it has KFC and McDonald outlets every where? Take a look at rural areas of China.
Even if the government propaganda has been touting “international cities” and all that, it still takes a long time for China to catch up.